Gloria Wright / The Post-StandardOnondaga County legislature candidate Jim DiBlasi speaks with Don Mawhinney and Susan Bailey at the Republican election night gathering at the Holiday Inn. Fifty years ago, Mawhinney held DiBlasi's 7th district seat on what was then called the Board of Supervisors.

This press release just arrived from the Working Families Party:

Onondaga Working Families Party Jubilant as Buckel Upsets DiBlasi
Minor Party Guides Buckel to victory in County Legislature Race, Shows Electoral Prowess

Onondaga Working Families Party members celebrated tonight as insurgent candidate Tom Buckel cruised to victory in Onondaga's 7 th Legislative District over Republican incumbent James DiBlasi . The victory is the latest in a series of electoral wins for the minor party in Onondaga County .

"The Working Families Party holds politicians from both major parties accountable," said Rick Oppedisano, Onondaga Working Families Party Chair. "Three years ago when Democratic Syracuse Common Council member Mike Atkins refused to support the living wage bill, we defeated him. Now, when Republican Jim DiBlasi failed to represent working families, we sent him packing."

"The Working Families Party was absolutely decisive in my victory tonight," said Buckel. "They helped me share my message of creating jobs, responsible development, and open government."

The Working Families Party became a force in Syracuse with the stunning upset victory by Tom Seals over Mike Atkins in 2003. The Working Families Party has since led successful campaigns to pass a citywide living wage measure and a historic green jobs and clean energy bill which will create hundreds of jobs, save ratepayers on their utility bills, and help preserve the environment and fight global warming.

Tom Buckel's campaign was managed directly by the Working Families Party and party volunteers knocked on hundreds of doors and made thousands of phone calls in support of the campaign.

Tonight's upset could be significant for two races likely to be hotly contested in 2008. Tom Buckel's district is encompassed by the 25th Congressional District, where Republican Jim Walsh is expected to face a strong challenge next year in a rematch with Dan Maffei, and overlaps the 50 th State Senate District currently held by Republican John DeFrancisco, a likely target of Senate Democrats looking to reclaim the majority for the first time in over 50 years.

The Working Families Party received 155,184 votes for Eliot Spitzer in 2006.